Respiratory motor training and neuromuscular plasticity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A pilot study

• We examined effects of respiratory motor training (RMT) on respiratory single and multi-muscle activation properties in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary.
• These effects were evaluated using spirometry and electromyography.
• Respiratory function and respiratory muscle activation patterns were improved.
• This study demonstrate that functional improvements induced by the RMT are associated with adaptive re-organization of respiratory neuromuscular networks affected in COPD.

The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of a full-scale investigation of the neurophysiological mechanisms of COPD-induced respiratory neuromuscular control deficits. Characterization of respiratory single- and multi-muscle activation patterns using surface electromyography (sEMG) were assessed along with functional measures at baseline and following 21 ± 2 (mean ± SD) sessions of respiratory motor training (RMT) performed during a one-month period in four patients with GOLD stage II or III COPD.Pre-training, the individuals with COPD showed significantly increased (p < 0.05) overall respiratory muscle activity and disorganized multi-muscle activation patterns in association with lowered spirometrical measures and decreased fast- and slow-twitch fiber activity as compared to healthy controls (N = 4). Following RMT, functional and respiratory sEMG activation outcomes during quite breathing and forced expiratory efforts were improved suggesting that functional improvements, induced by task-specific RMT, are evidence respiratory neuromuscular networks re-organization.